Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Thursday released a list of “top 24 failures” of the Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP government in Odisha, which is set to complete two years in office June 12.
However, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Thursday described June 4, 2024, as a momentous and historic day in Odisha’s political history as the results of the Assembly elections were declared on the day. BJP for the first time won the polls by securing 78 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly.
Majhi asserted that the state’s BJP government was working with full commitment for the overall development of every section of society, giving utmost importance to administrative transparency, responsibility and welfare of the people.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty in a press release, alleged that there have been escalations in crime rate, safety concerns, economic slowdowns and financial mismanagement during the last 24 months of the BJP government in the state.
The BJD released a comprehensive list of what it calls the “top 24 failures of the double engine government”.
While targeting the Majhi government over the state’s law and order situation, the BJD cited data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and claimed that 48,798 cases of crimes against women were reported in just 18 months, while Odisha topped the national charts in sexual harassment in public places and violent crimes. A 7.3 per cent rise in cognizable crimes to 2,29,881 cases in 2025 from 2,14,113 in 2024, the BJD said.
On the economic front, the BJD also held the BJP government “responsible for stalling” Odisha’s growth momentum. There has been a sharp drop in the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth, which fell from 9.6 per cent in 2023–24 to 7.2 per cent in 2024–25. However, there was a minor recovery in the GSDP in 2025-26, which remained at 7.9 per cent, the BJD said.
The regional outfit alleged that there was a severe decline in investor confidence as the state could attract a meagre Rs 39 crore in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during 2024–25 fiscal, which is just 0.009 per cent of the national average.
The BJD also alleged that mega-industrial projects including JSW EV, ArcelorMittal Steel, S Ram N Ram Semiconductor, Waaree Solar, and Welspun, have exited the state in the last two years.
“Odisha’s ranking in the National Startup Index has plummeted from 6th in 2022 to 20th in 2025, while its Export Index ranking slipped from 11th to 15th,” the BJD statement said.
On the financial front, the BJD pointed out that agricultural growth has halved from 7.6 per cent to 3.8 per cent, industrial growth slowed from 8.7 per cent to 6.1 per cent, and the service sector dipped from 11.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
Similarly, the BJD noted that the state’s debt amount has increased to Rs 1.38 lakh crore, with 40 per cent tied up in high-interest open market borrowings. The state’s fiscal deficit doubled from 1.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent, while the primary deficit surged from 1.1 per cent to 2.9 per cent.
Ridiculing the “double engine” concept, the BJD alleged that there was about an 18 per cent dip in central grants and utilisation of only 57 per cent of the 2025–26 budget so far.
There has been a reduction of Rs 453 crore in the health budget, and Odisha faces the highest inflation rate in the country at 7.22 per cent.
